Hen Ichaer
by Misses Histery
Summary: The sword of destiny has two edges, you are one of them. The Witcher AU. Written for the Brittana2ndAnniversary.
1. Chapter 1: Lilac and Gooseberries

**Lilac and Gooseberries.**

The warm water relaxed her muscles and cleared her mind. Months had passed and she hadn't had the chance to take a decent bath, but with Winter close, she finally could return to Kaer Morhen, the Keep of the witchers of the School of The Wolf for centuries, and leave the Path behind her for at least a few months.

"You must hurry, Ciri will start to get impatient, and I wouldn't like to deal with that" her companion pulled her out of her meditation, but she knew that she was right.

Truth was that since the moment she arrived at the Keep, Ciri hadn't stopped begging her to train together, and everyone knew that she couldn't say no to the little girl. It had to do with the fact that since the first time that she saw her, she knew that Ciri would change her life forever, and the most important thing: that the girl became like a daughter to her.

Fate was a funny thing, and when it bound them through the _Law of Surprise_ (an ancient custom that witchers demanded as a way of payment) it knew what it was doing. Brittany never imagined that by taking a simple Contract, like in uncountable occasions, she would obtain a _girl_ , and not just a simple girl, but the _princess_ of Cintra, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon.

Years passed until she saw her again, but when she found out what had happened at Cintra, she decided to take Ciri with her and do what all witchers did with children given to them: take them to Kaer Morhen and prepare them to be the next generation of witchers.

"Come on, Britt, the more you wait, the more possible is for her to start training alone, and you know what Shelby says about that."

Brittany groaned and maintained her eyes closed. She was enjoying her bath _so much._

"Maybe she can wait a little bit longer, and you and I could make up for lost time, what do you think?"

She heard how her companion laughed, she could imagine her dimples and how she was comfortably laying on the couch, with nothing but the towel that she used to dry her hair to cover her naked body and a book on her lap. "I missed you too, but we have all the time in the world, now go, I'll be right here waiting for you."

She didn't need any more motivation than _that_ , nevertheless, she extended her time in the bath. The water was still warm, surely because of a spell casted without her knowing.

Leaning on the edge of the bath, she got up, feeling the drops of water fall through her hair to her naked back; after finding her training pants and boots, she was almost ready to get out of their _space free of interruptions by every one of the Keep's inhabitants,_ yes, that's how they had named it.

After finding the key of the room, she made her way downstairs, not without lingering on the beautiful view being gifted to her one last time. _To think that I was so close to losing all of that._ She shook her head to dispose those awful thoughts, it wasn't the place nor the time to think about that.

As she was entering the study room she heard a… snore? If Shelby had fallen asleep it could only mean one thing: Ciri was already training with the Pendulum, a structure built in one of the Keep's walls. It didn't have any protections and it was built with various circular pieces of wood, every one of them separated by 15cm, and a big pendulum that forced everyone who trained there to have a very fast footwork to avoid being thrown out. It had become Ciri's favorite thing to train with since she started to do it with her eyes closed, something that _adds so much fun, Britt._

Brittany was sure that Santana wouldn't agree.

She cared more for Ciri than for herself, and she was against the whole witcher training thing to begin with, so the guilt for any accident that could happen would fall upon Brittany, she was sure of it. That's why she hurried to the interior yard of Kaer Morhen. When she arrived, she found out that her suppositions were right.

"You must have a faster footwork, your balance point is wrong," that was the first thing she said when she was close enough for Ciri to hear it, making her trip over her feet; but Brittany wasn't concerned, she was well aware of Ciri's non-magical abilities, and a little stumble would only cause her to regroup her thoughts and realize what was she doing wrong.

Ciri was a dedicated student most of the time, but when she got bored of reading the _endless_ books about the _endless_ monsters she had to encounter on the Path, it was a different story. Brittany understood her. There were fascinating monsters, monsters from which one could make posions, beverages and even food with every part of their bodies, and there were others that simply existed to bother common folk, _those_ were the ones that bored Ciri, but to know about them was necessary.

"You shouldn't be training alone, that way you don't have someone to tell you what you're doing wrong and you'll only get worse. Get down here."

"I've heard that countless of times," replicated the young witcher while taking the bandage covering her bright green eyes and getting down with a double flip.

"Why do you still do it, then?"

Ciri shrugged, apparently preparing herself for a lecture that Brittany was going to give her, but she wasn't going down without a fight. "I read all of _Ghuls and Alghuls,_ and since Shelby fell asleep, I thought it was a good time to train with my sword."

Brittany sighed. Some fights she just couldn't win.

"Fine, if you're finished with your chores and are anxious to train, let's do it. Sugar and Mercedes should be in the training yard." she swore she caught a glimpse of that lopsided grin that was _all_ Santana in Ciri's face when she took off running to the yard; she didn't know why she was surprised.

"That little she-devil, I swear I was just resting my eyes, I thought she would take her time doing the essay that I asked her to do about _Ghuls and Alghuls"_ Shelby was by her side.

"Knowing her, I'd tell she lingered on purpose so you'd get bored."

"Yeah, I think we've spoiled her. Let's catch up with her."

When they arrived at the yard, Ciri, Sugar and Mercedes were talking lively about all the essays that Shelby had given them, sharing experiences and opinions about the boring books that they had to read.

"Next time we'll study with the doors closed, Cirilla, and you'll have to give me your work before I let you out of the room."

Ciri just smiled. "As you say, Aunt Shelby."

"Now, let's begin the training, to be the best you must train like the best, and you know you have a lot of potential, but for now you'll train with the dummy, that'll be your punishment. Go."

Sugar and Mercedes began to train as well, and Brittany paired with Shelby.

They trained for a while, until the helmet of the dummy Ciri was training with went flying behind one of the walls and she took of behind it.

"Ciri! Come back!"

Brittany received no answer.

Suddenly, the wind became icy, frost covered the training yard, and a big longship could be seen outside the outer wall of the Keep. It could only mean one thing, the Wild Hunt was at their doors, and they wouldn't stop until they had what they wanted: Ciri.

She woke up with a start.

It's been years since she last saw Ciri, and certainly she hadn't dreamt of her, which meant things were changing, and not necessarily for good.

 _First that letter and now nightmares about Ciri, what's happening?_

And, on top of her nightmares, she had been looking for certain sorceress, certain sorceress who had _never_ put a foot in Kaer Morhen.

With every day that passed, they were closer to their destiny, of that she was sure, but she couldn't stop the thoughts in her head that made her feel they were losing the trail _again._ Since that letter with smell of lilac and gooseberries arrived, she hadn't had a good night's sleep; she wouldn't allow herself to have a good night's sleep until she found her. After all those years she finally had the chance to see her again, and the mix between nerves, anticipation and happiness made her insides a mess.

Some said the witchers breed didn't had feelings, that all those mutations and tests made them vanish, those same mutations and tests what made them the monster killers that they were. But Brittany wasn't so sure about that. Not when she was feeling so many things inside of her that sometimes she just couldn't tell one from the other. All those feelings were, more often than not, caused by one single person.

"Let me see the letter again, Britt."

Her companion's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Shelby had been traveling with her since the letters arrival. She had told her numerous times that it wasn't necessary, that she could stay at Kaer Morhen, but Shelby refused. She had always been like a mother figure for her and her fellow witchers, Mercedes and Sugar. They were the last ones graduated from their School, and no other School of Witchers had accepted new recruits in more than a century; it helped that witchers could live a very long life, there were stories about witchers who lived for more than three hundred years until some monster killed them.

Brittany didn't know what use would have handing Shelby the letter, they had read it hundreds of times, it was precise and did not revealed anything more than the location in which they were supposed to meet. Their destiny, White Orchard, was half a day, and they were hoping to find a fresh trail. The horses were exhausted, so they decided to let them rest a little bit longer that night.

"Well, the only thing surprising about this thing is that it still smells of lilac and gooseberries, and that, apparently, she still has the unicorn… what's that about?" asked Shelby with curiosity.

Brittany smiled.

"It's a disecated unicorn, we used it as a bed some times."

The postscript was the only thing that seemed out of context: _I still have the unicorn._

"Ah, I see, I really don't want to know more details of your sexual life, thank you for a little bit of decency."

After talking a little bit more about weather Mercedes and Sugar would return to Kaer Morhen for the winter and the love-hate relationship that Mercedes and Shelby still had after all those years, Brittany's thoughts returned to the reason of that journey, and smiling, she remembered some of their best moments in the company of that unicorn.

When they retired to get some rest, Brittany's dreams returned to the same endless nightmare.

The sun was about to return, which meant they could go to White Orchard and _finally_ have a real shot at reuniting with the sorceress; maybe Brittany could tell her about her dreams.

A ghuls pack attacked them before they could follow their path, but that was nothing compared to the griffin that they found farther. Fortunately, Brittany's silver sword wounded the beast enough for it to retreat, not before leaving Shelby a memento in her shoulder.

"Let's go to the tavern, maybe they can help us with your wound and with information."

Shelby accepted without a fight, that damned monster got her good.

When you are different, you'll not be accepted by everyone, and humans have a nasty tradition of discriminating those who don't share their ideas or, in this case, their _human_ status. It didn't matter that witchers were the bridge between humans and monsters, so to speak, they were still treated poorly; it didn't matter how many lives they saved, there would always be people who view them as trash or simple bounty hunters.

That was the main reason for them to avoid taverns.

The incidents were more frequent in times of war, like the one they were living. Lucky them, the tavern was almost empty, with a group of what seemed to be mercenaries in one side, a lonely merchant in a corner and a student from Oxenfurt University bragging about how good he was at gwent on another table near the entrance.

"Why don't you go ask if someone has seen her while I tend to my wound?" Brittany nodded and contemplated her options.

If she were to ask the student first, she was sure he would force her to play with him; she didn't have the time for that.

If she were to ask the mercenaries first, she was sure they would try to fight with her, a nonsense fight; she didn't have the time for that, either.

 _Seems like the merchant is my best choice, who knows? Maybe he did see her._

She made her way to the merchant's table and asked him politely if she could take a seat. He just nodded and pointed the seat in front of him with his finger.

"Gaunter O'Dimm, a pleasure"

"Brittany Pierce, likewise."

"I had understood that all witchers had yellow eyes and cat like pupils after the mutations, but I had heard about you, you're different," there were times in which she didn't like to have the two witcher's swords hung in her back ( _steel for humans, silver for monsters_ ) but she needed them, and there were times in which she didn't like having all the fame that she had.

"Mutations affect us in different ways."

"Yet, it's strange to see a blue eyed witcher," he said while studying her closely, something that she was used to, because unlike her friends, she was the only one who maintained the original color and shape of her eyes.

"I like to think that I'm ending with the stereotype," Brittany replicated. "But I'm not here to talk about me, I'm looking for a woman."

"Aren't we all? We all look for a woman, or a man, I couldn't care less about other peoples' preferences."

"Yeah, but she's not any woman, mine smells like lilac and gooseberries, dresses always in black and white, she should've passed through here, but I've lost her trail."

"Ah, this starts to get interesting; let me guess, you're looking for the sorceress of Vengerberg."

Brittany was surprised, but tried to answer calmly.

"How do you know that?"

"Because of Michael Chang, the great bard, of course!" he said joyfully "I'll tell you what I know, but before I do that, I want you to answer one question for me: is that really what you want? To find her?"

"That's a very weird question."

"Oh, come on, humor me, a simple merchant like me can only dream of adventures and romances of such caliber. Because it is love, right?"

"Of course it is," she answered without hesitating.

That seemed to be the right answer, for the merchant seemed very pleased with it. He ordered two shots, one for each of them, and Brittany supposed that it wouldn't hurt to take it, after all, she had been traveling for weeks and it was the first tavern that they crossed.

"You see, I've been here a while, tending some of my business, and yes, I did see the sorceress, but in that moment it didn't mean anything to me, I've heard every single one of the songs that master Chang has written about you two, so _of course_ I was suspicious when she passed through here, dressed in black and white, with that peculiar perfume, but I never thought that I would be lucky enough for her to be _her…"_

"I'm sorry, I really don't want to be rude, but I need to find her _immediately._ If you have any useful clue, I would really like you to tell me. Please," she interrumpted nervously. She didn't like to be rude, but she was sure that if she let him, Gaunter O'Dimm would spend hours talking about silly things.

"Oh, yes, of course, I'm so sorry, it's just… things like this never happen here. Anyway, you should go to the Nilfgaardian Fort, it's north from here. She stopped there for a night and then she left."

 _At last,_ Brittany thought, _at last I have a solid clue._

"You don't know how much I appreciate that," she tried to not sound too enthusiastic, she had a reputation to uphold, after all.

"It is nothing, Brittany Pierce, I just hope that, if some day I'm in the need to ask for your help, you'll be there to give me a hand," said Gaunter O'Dimm, getting up and paying for their drinks so he could leave, giving Brittany a strange look before leaving.

Brittany frowned. The way that he had said that sounded like a promise _and_ a threat.

She decided to inform Shelby about what she had found out, discharging any other thoughts for some other time.

"I've a clue."

"And we have a problem," before Brittany could ask what she meant, she saw with the corner of her eyes the mercenaries approaching their table. Shelby had been watching them for a while, Brittany supposed. She really hoped not to get her armor dirty _again,_ it was a lot of effort to clean it.

Preparing for the worst, she turned around, not surprised when she was nose to nose with the one who seemed to be the boss.

"We were leaving."

"Oh, yes, you _are_ leaving, but not before we kick your asses, _fucking freaks."_

Brittany _felt_ how Shelby was stealthily getting up from the chair, drawing her steel sword and distracting the three men enough to give Brittany the opportunity to do the same.

The fight didn't last long. The tranquil tavern that they entered minutes before was long gone, Brittany should've been used to that kind of reaction to things out of the norm, she knew that the possibility to end up kicking some assholes in the face was always there, even the possibility to, like this time, cut some bastards' throats was there, but it was still hard for her to understand humans and their fear of the unknown.

"And here I was, hoping to stay out of trouble this time," Shelby's commentary pulled her out of her thoughts.

She only nodded and did a quick look over: every single one of the customers were hidden under the tables. But the looks of fear and _disgust_ were the ones that affected Brittany the most.

"Get out of here and never come back… _monsters,_ " exclaimed the inn keeper.

Shelby took Brittany by the forearm and guided her to the exit. Brittany looked up as her feet touched the loose soil, and the first thing that registered her eyes was four nilfgaardian guards, who probably came from the Fort that she was headed to before that useless fight.

"They started the fight, I wanted to try and talk to them, really, but they didn't gave me the chance," she was starting to rant and she knew it, but she didn't want to get in troubles with the Emperor's soldiers; he hated her for the simple fact of existing, she didn't want to give him any other motive.

"You don't need to rant, Britt-Britt, you know that I always found that very endearing."

The world stopped at lightning speed.

"S-Santana?" she said as she searched for her, just in time to see her making her way through her scort, all mounting pants and black and white tones, and that smell so characteristic of her. _Just as I remember her. "_ How come you're here?"

"Oh, you know me, I've never been patient, and when one of my friends here arrived with a report of someone asking for me, I knew it was you," Brittany could notice the happiness in her eyes, but she also knew that Santana would never act upon it with all the others around, she wouldn't allow herself to show weakness. "I'm very glad to see you, I'd even embrace you, were you not covered in blood and if this outfit weren't new."

 _There's the Santana that I remember._ It was the best she would get for now, any compliment or act of happiness were covered by a not so nice comment to divert the attention.

"Now that we're here and that we went through so much trouble to find you, I think it would be best for you to tell us why you were looking for Brittany in the first place and why when we find you you're with a nilfgaardian scort," Shelby was not Santana's number one fan, but they respected each other, so that was something.

"It's good to see you too, Shelby. I'm sorry for all the trouble you two encountered, but that was out of my control," she gave the soldiers a sign and they started to prepare the horses for their departure. The moment they left, she turned her attention to Brittany. "I can't tell the reason why I wanted you to find me, Britt, we'll have to do that at Vizima, Emperor Emhyr wants to talk to you."

 _This has to be a goddamned joke._

"You know perfectly that the White Flame Dancing On The Graves Of His Foes and I are not the best of friends, San."

Santana tried to hide the smile that formed on her lips after hearing the nickname that she hadn't heard in such a long time and the blatant sarcasm that Brittany was capable of. "I know, and I wouldn't oblige you to go if the Emperor didn't have such an important proposal. I didn't refuse, I just couldn't."

 _That_ was intriguing. Santana hated to be under someone else's command, and there were only two people for whom she would give up her freedom; one of them was in front of her, the other one had disappeared many years ago.

Brittany just looked her in the eyes and nodded, being enough to tell her that she understood the importance of the proposal, whatever it was.

"It seems that this is as far as we'll go together, Britt, I'm sure Emperor Emhyr didn't extend an invitation for me."

Shelby was right, but it didn't make the goodbye easy. "Thank you for everything, Shelby, you don't know how much it meant to me. Good luck on the Path, we'll see each other in the winter" Brittany grabbed her mentor's forearm and gave her a quick hug that Shelby reciprocated before grabbing her horse and making her way north, to Kaer Morhen.

"Is Tubbs in good shape?" Brittany used to call all her horses the same way, Santana was one of the few people to know that and that little gesture made her feel wyverns on her stomach and heat in her cheeks. _And other places._

"Yeah, but, what's the rush?"

"I'd like to be out of curious looks and in the comfort of the palace as soon as possible."

 _I'd like to be in a safe place as soon as possible_ was what she practically wanted to say by the restless look that she could see on Santana's face. Something was making her feel on high alert, and Brittany didn't like that at all. Her favourite Santana had always been the relaxed one, the one with her walls down, but clearly she wouldn't see her for some time.

They got out of White Orchard at full speed.

"I had a dream about you."

"Oh, really? Knowing you, it probably involved us with zero clothes." Santana replicated with that lopsided smile that Ciri had inherited.

Unfortunately, Brittany didn't had the chance to answer. While she was forming the first word, Brittany saw her own breath, and being in the middle of the spring, such violent changes in the temperature wouldn't have to happen, unless…

The first hound of the Wild Hunt appeared practically out of nowhere, taking the soldier by her left by surprise. Covered in frost and with a diabolic appearance, the hounds were faster than the horses, but thanks to the distraction given to them by the fallen soldier, they took a little advantage.

The Riders of the Hunt could be seen in the distance, getting closer by the minute, and beheading a second soldier, that in an act of heroism or stupidity, tried to save his comrade.

Two other soldiers fell, giving them enough time to reach a narrow wood bridge that, after passing through it, Santana destroyed with a white lightning bolt that came out of her hand, taking with it two of the Riders and one hound.

"Why the hell did they appear here?" Brittany was agitated, and not precisely because of the race, after riding for almost a year with the Wild Hunt, seeing all kinds of death and destruction that they left behind them, the simple fact of seeing them up close again caused her to panic. _Thank Gods for the mutations, I don't know how much worse this anxiety would get without them._

"I'll tell you tomorrow after the audience, then you'll understand why they appeared here," there was certain fear in her voice, and she understood.

Brittany wasn't the only one who suffered in the hands of the Wild Hunt. After all, she did a trade with them: her life, _her soul,_ in exchange of Santana's.

* * *

Hi!

So, this was my apportation to the Second Anniversary of our dear Brittany and our dear Santana. This is my first fic about them, and my first fic written in english, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. This idea was stuck in my head because one day, after playing for almost six hours The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I had a dream and for some strange reason, all Witcher characters were replaced with Glee characters. When I couldn't stop thinking about it, I knew I had to do this, so here's the result.

Based on the answers that this gets I'll post more chapters, even if there's few people interested but those people want to know what happens next, I'll update this story, you just have to ask me. I don't know how many chapters I'll do, and they're not going to be 100 % based on Wild Hunt's story but I will borrow a lot of it. Any comment, doubt or suggestion are welcome.

Thanks for reading!

 **Dany. (02/20/2017, 15:10)**


	2. Chapter 2: Imperial Audience

**Imperial Audience.**

Once again, Brittany found herself neck deep on warm water. The only difference was that this time she was sure that it wasn't a dream, because she _hadn't_ slept since the previous night.

Fifteen hours had passed since the Chamberlain gave her a temporary room in a new wing of Vizima's Palace, formerly known as Temeria's capital distinctive building, built specially for Nilfgaard's diplomatists. Fifteen hours of being just a few meters away from Santana, and compared to how far away they were to find each other the day before, that distance was _nothing._ Santana had her own room at the palace, which meant she had a long time serving at Emhyr's court.

Brittany was more anxious than ever.

What had caused the Wild Hunt to chase them besides the obvious reasons? What did the Emperor want? What was Santana doing in the middle of everything? She had so many questions and she still had a couple of hours to get her answers.

"Lady Brittany, I'm sorry for interrupting but we have to hurry if you want to be presentable for the Emperor," the Chamberlain who had assigned her the room was also the one in charge of making her _presentable,_ he kept calling her _Lady,_ when she obviously wasn't worth of the title,and he was obviously not sorry about interrupting her.

With a grunt, Brittany got up and grabbed the towel and the robe that another servant was giving her. She tied her hair in the towel after getting rid of the excess of water on her body and put the robe on, thankful for not having to give the Chamberlain and the other servants a free show. Though everyone seemed strangely disinterested in anything that had to do with her.

"If you'd be so kind to follow me, we shall cut your hair and find you a suitable dress for your audience with the Emperor," he put a finger on his chin, and after giving her a look from head to toe, he continued before Brittany was able to interrupt him. "I know that asking for your permission to put some make up on you is pointless, so please accept the trim and the hairdo, I beg you."

 _This is fun._

"Santana doesn't seem to be fond of hairdos either."

"Lady Santana won't be reuniting with The White Flame Dancing on The Grave of His Foes, and I should remind you that her attire always goes in accordance with her position at court and the situation that she finds herself in."

"About that… what's exactly her position at Emperor Emhyr's court?"

The Chamberlain seemed to think his answer for a couple of seconds, considering if that information was, perhaps, out of limits. At the end, he answered. "Lady Santana possess a privileged position at court, she funges as counselor and the official sorceress of Emperor Emhyr."

"I didn't know there was a title such as _oficial sorceress"_ Brittany wasn't able to hide her amusement, and the Chamberlain, it seemed, wasn't very convinced of the utility or veracity of that position either.

"That would make two of us, Lady Brittany. I'm afraid we must hurry, I'm sure you can ask Lady Santana everything you want."

The next hour was _torture._ Between revising her lections in manners, her curtsies, the dress fittings and alterations, and the endless discussions about what style would make her hair look better, Brittany wanted to explode and throw them a Signal ― Axii was her first choice, so she could make them _shut up_ and do what she pleased― but she knew that she would make Emhyr and Santana mad, and, in all honesty, Santana could make her feel more fear than Emhyr.

Her dress was quite simple, with long sleeves, a conservative corset and a plain skirt. Her shoes had the smallest heel they could find, almost as small as the ones on her training boots, forgotten in her room at Kaer Morhen. It was decided that she should wear Nilfgaard's representative colors: black and white with a sparkle of yellow here and there, representing the Great Sun, ever present in the banners.

 _Santana's favorite colors if we replace yellow with red._

Her hair was a completely different adventure.

She had been so long on the Path that her hair was practically destroyed, and yet, the barber did an excellent job, since he managed to rescue almost all of it and leave it to the middle of her back, enough to put it on a pony tail if needed. But for that occasion, they let it fall free around her shoulders, only giving it a little curl at the end.

Brittany felt _ridiculous_ , they didn't even let her keep her Wolf medallion _._ But she knew it was necessary, her meeting wouldn't even last five minutes, for Emhyr always liked to go straight to the point, and when she was finished with that, she would be free to do whatever the hell she wanted with her clothes and her hair.

"Well, If you allow me to say it, this is much better than we expected, Lady Brittany", the Chamberlain seemed genuinely surprised, and for the first time since she arrived at the castle, his voice didn't sound condescending. "Now, if you'll be so kind as to follow me, your meeting with the Emperor shall start soon, we must hurry"

The first thing that caught her attention when she was outside the guest room, was the large hallway in front of her, with six doors on each side. She never doubted the power that the Nilfgaardian Empire possessed, not for one second, after all they were on their third great war against the North, searching for expansion, and yet, to witness something as unimportant as the number of rooms in that hallway, made her remember who she was dealing with.

They made their way to the Throne Room. It seemed that it was under maintenance and having a _remodeling._ Servants of the castle were trying to destroy the coat of arms of the conquered Temeria, found in the center of the room, but the Temerian Lilies were not ready to give up.

In that way, the former inhabitants of the _free_ Temeria were very much alike that coat of arms adorning the palace. The guerrillas were gaining strength although the number of rebels was decreasing thanks to the Imperial Army.

Brittany had a feeling that one of the generals responsible of the resistance was one of her old acquaintances, Noah Puckerman. Puck had always had an unbreakable loyalty towards his country, and even after being on the verge of death in various occasions, he never thought of retiring. Brittany admired that determination. Unfortunately, they hadn't spoken since she started her quest of finding Santana. She hoped to know of him soon.

But that was not the time to think about anything else except the situation at hand. She needed to focus and be as calm as possible. Emhyr knew that she hated conflict, so she would had to hide her true feelings while being in his presence. If he started to bother her, he would win whatever negotiation he had in mind.

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't realize the moment they got through the Throne Room, and soon enough, she was standing in front of the huge door of what she believed was the Emperor's temporary studio.

"Remember the curtsy we practiced, Lady Brittany", the Chamberlain muttered between his teeth. Go figure, Nilfgaard had a _different_ curtsy. She didn't expect less of someone as conceited as The Invader from the South, Emhyr Var Emreis.

Before she could answer him, the door opened.

"Brittany Pierce, witcher of Kaer Morhen", a herald announced her arrival, and Brittany was taken back in time, when she was just a girl and her parents used to organize all kinds of social events, dances most of all. When she was presented differently; when she was part of the nobility, a long time ago.

An elbow landed on her ribs. The Chamberlain was looking her with big open eyes, waiting for something that Brittany wasn't sure what it was, until she realized that she was face to face with Nilfgaard's Emperor, whom, sitting behind his big desk, watched her expectantly.

Reacting as fast as possible, Brittany did the curtsy like she had practiced: left leg slightly extended, right hand to her chest, head bowed and chin to her chest. When she took a glance at the Chamberlain, he nodded imperceptibly to let her know that she had done it well.

"Everyone, out. Leave me alone with her", Emhyr's voice was low and authoritarian, it fitted his powerful persona. His presence demanded attention and respect. And Brittany thought that someone had to be crazy to disobey this man, even more so, to _betray_ him. But stranger things had happened.

When the room was cleared out, Emhyr got up of the chair and walked towards her, his black tunic with yellow rivets and the rings around his fingers shining with the light projected by all the candles. He had his brow furrowed, like most of the times that Brittany had seen him; his aquiline nose and his unexpressive eyes made him look even more intimidating.

"I thought dresses weren't your thing."

"They were, once upon a time, and I didn't want to disappoint the Chamberlain, we're friends."

Emhyr just pursed his lips. "I expect that Santana hadn't told you why you're here, I know she'd always had a weak spot for you."

"No, my Lord, I don't know anything yet."

"Good."

The Emperor decided to walk around his studio for what felt like _hours_ , perhaps thinking of what was the best way of telling her what he had to tell her, and Brittany had the chance to look at her surroundings. What she saw was not that much surprising, only three walls with lots of books shelves, important looking papers and a large map on the desk, but what really caught her attention was the portrait of a little girl with the most hideous pink dress that she had ever seen and the angriest face that someone her age could show, between two bookcases.

Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, heir to the Nilfgaardian Empire.

She couldn't have been more than six years old, if her chubby cheeks and the little hands were any indicator. Her ashen hair and her emerald green eyes had stayed the same throughout her life; last time Brittany saw her, she was starting to become a woman, leaving behind that baby fat. She was almost as tall as Santana, and strangely, she was starting to grow an unexplainable love for magic and the monsters that she hated so much when she was younger. _It's a shame that we didn't have more time together… but this isn't the right time to think about Ciri._

"My daughter's back."

 _Or maybe it_ is _the time to think about Ciri._

"Are ― are you sure?"

"I wouldn't have called you if I weren't, I've been through a lot of trouble to bring you here, I wouldn't have done it if I weren't sure", his tone was condescending, and because his tone was the only way of figuring out how was he feeling, Brittany had to leave her emotions aside, after all, wasn't that the point of the mutations?

"And what do you want me to do about it, Your Imperial Highness?"

"I want you to bring her to me. State reasons. She trusts you."

 _Of course, you were never a father figure for her, you won't start now, after all these years._

"I think Ciri does a lot more than just trust me, but I'll do it. I'll find her, and if she decides to come here, I'll bring her."

"I'm sure you'll do de right thing, for her. Now get out, I don't want to keep wasting my time with you. Santana should tell you everything you need to know", he bid her farewell with a gesture of his hand, indicating the door.

The Chamberlain was waiting for her to escort her to Santana's room when she got out of the studio, and Brittany wondered what kind of expression she had on her face, because her companion kept looking at her with worry and fear, as if he was waiting for Brittany to collapse and start to burn things at any time.

There wasn't _anything_ in the world that she wanted more.

But just like Santana, Brittany had a role to play, and in that moment, she had to maintain her stoic façade. Even if she wanted to cry more than anything, she would have to wait until she was alone, preferably in a room with thick walls.

Upon arriving at their destination, the Chamberlain gave Brittany a look that _almost_ seemed pitiful, and with a firm voice, he said, "I hope that everything goes well for you, Lady Brittany", and with that he left, not waiting for an answer.

Brittany didn't think that she would've been able to give him one.

She took a deep breath and tried to slow the beating of her heart. When she managed to do so, she opened the double door of Santana's room.

The first thing that got her attention was how _big_ the room was. It seemed like two guest rooms molded into one, and Brittany supposed that it was just enough so Santana could put all her things in just one room. And not just some stuff like clothes, perfumes and books. In the right corner of the room, Brittany saw, _of course,_ that blasted stuffed unicorn.

Unfortunately, the trip down memory lane was cut short when she heard footsteps coming from her left, where she guessed was the dresser.

Soon enough, that perfume so inherently _Santana_ invaded the room.

Brittany didn't have to wait but just a few seconds for Santana to be in front of her, with her hair loose and falling upon her shoulders, black as the nights in which Brittany thought that she would never see her again; her eyes glistening with anticipation, without those useless walls that she always had to carry in front of other people.

When she laid eyes on her, Santana immediately knew that Ciri's return had affected her more than the two of them hoped, so she decided to say nothing and just _embrace_ her.

That was all she needed in that moment: Santana's arms around her waist and her face hidden in Santana's neck. Just like that, she _finally_ could cry without another care in the world.

She couldn't avoid thinking that Ciri disappeared in the first place because of her.

Ciri possessed incredible magic abilities: she could move between space and time. Thanks to that, Ciri had saved them of a sure death in the hands of angry and scared humans at Rivia, all because Brittany couldn't defend herself of a simple peasant, who took the chance and _stabbed_ her in the stomach with a pitchfork.

Santana had put her own life at risk trying to save her, but there were _so_ much people and _so_ much blood that it would have been practically impossible to achieve her goal without Ciri's help.

So, she took them to a faraway place, the Isle of Avalon. After making sure that Brittany would be fine, she left, leaving them in what seemed to be a limbo, without worries, without anyone but them.

But they didn't count on the Wild Hunt to take an interest on Ciri, and they surely didn't think that _that_ was the reason for her to be running around between worlds.

No one was able to find her, until the one and only Eredin Bréacc Glas, King of the Wild Hunt and the Aen Elle (ancient elves, different from the Aen Seidhe that had arrived to the human world after the Conjunction of the Spheres) decided to get out of Tir ná Lia and take matters in his hands, kidnaping Santana to gain Ciri's attention and make her return to their world.

But Brittany would not wait for a miracle.

She had to do something to assure Santana's wellbeing, so she did the only thing that she could do: trade places with Santana, knowing damn well that Eredin was aware of the close relationship that they shared with Ciri.

It wasn't easy, but after a long negotiation, Brittany was able to convince him, and at the end of the day, Santana was free and she was riding with the Hunt.

After almost a year of being their prisoner, Brittany was finally able to escape. Not without a little bit of help, of course. Even if she didn't remember her time with those monsters, she did remember a hooded figure with ashen hair teleporting her near Kaer Morhen, where Mercedes and Sugar found her, hurt and without memory.

Upon gaining conscience after a week of her appearance at Kaer Morhen's woods, Brittany was left with nothing to remember about her life. Mercedes and Sugar tried to tell her about important moments of her life ― like her witcher training, thankfully intact ―, and people who had played important parts in it, but all was in vain.

A few months later, she went back to the Path, and as fate would have it, she ran into an old friend: Mike Chang, the "most famous bard in the world", according to him.

Mike was a storyteller turned into a bard. Brittany met him when she first started her alone travels as a witcher, and he had become her closest friend. Their different responsibilities made them go months without seeing each other, but they always made the effort of meeting once a year; that way Mike would have new ideas for his stories and songs, Brittany was an endless source of inspiration for him because of all the adventures and misfortunes that Brittany found herself into and Brittany would have the chance to bluff about her adventures and the _honor_ of being in the presence of the _great master_ Chang.

When Mike found out about Brittany's memory loss, he suggested to pass the next few months ― that became almost a year ― together, that way, he could tell her with detail her stories and be at the front row when she was killing monsters.

Brittany regained, somehow, her memory. She remembered almost nothing of her time with the Hunt; she believed it was better that way.

Mike insisted that it was thanks to his tales and songs that she regained her memories. Brittany swore that it was just a matter of time.

Brittany would later find out that Santana had suffered from amnesia after being with the Hunt, too. Fortunately, those who had found her were people loyal to the Nilfgaardian Empire and took her before Emhyr, whom made the best sorceress tend to her and brought her memories back. After that, he gave her a place at his court, and when the first sightings of Ciri happened, he told her about his intentions of finding her. That had everything to do with changing the course of war and nothing to do with his paternal instincts.

Santana doubted herself so much that she preferred to not bother her anymore, thinking that Brittany would be so much better without remembering her; until her search for Ciri came upon a sudden stop and contacting Brittany was the only way for her to solve that problem.

But now they were there, with Brittany clinging to Santana as if her life depended on it.

"I'm sorry that Emhyr was the one who told you about Ciri." Santana said after Brittany started to calm down. Their position was the same, and Santana had started to comb her fingers through Brittany's lose hair; she didn't have that chance often.

"Don't apologize, I know that otherwise he would've punished you in some way."

Santana nodded, and after drying Brittany's wet cheeks with her thumbs, she took her hand and led her to the huge bed. Brittany supposed that it was better to be comfortable for the approaching conversation.

"I've been trying to find Ciri for almost a year now. That the Empire gained so much power over these months helps, but even all the spies in the world haven't been able to give us her location."

"Why didn't you find me earlier?"

"I―uh, there were rumors," Santana let go of Brittany's hands for a moment, but Brittany didn't let her pull away, grabbing them again, letting her know that whatever thing she was going to say wouldn't have repercussions. "Rumors that said that you and Mike had a _romantic_ relationship."

The most ridiculous rumors, Brittany thought, but that somehow made sense: if Brittany didn't remember her and someone was with her day and night for months, certain feelings might've appeared.

"Oh, San," now Brittany was the one hugging Santana, and even though she would never hold something against her, she couldn't not think about how different her recovery would've been with Santana by her side, helping her to remember and to _forget._

"I know it doesn't matter anymore, we have all the time in the world to recover everything that we lost, but I'm sorry for not being there for you, and I'm sorry that our reunion was so hasty, I never wanted that, but at least now we have a chance to rebuild what we had," Santana broke the hug and with one hand, without daring to let go of Brittany's hands completely, she took an old paper from underneath her pillow. It was a portrait of Ciri, sharp factions and a scar that covered her left cheek. "Our little witcher is all grown up."

"Look at that," to say that Brittany was speechless was an understatement.

"We have to find her, Britt, before the Wild Hunt does."

"What was the last thing you knew about her?"

"We have three trails," Santana began to speak to her as if she was a stranger, but after remembering who she was talking to, her tone became calm. "She was in Velen, Novigrad and Skellige, where I suppose was her first appearance because there are reports of a magical explosion near the Ard Skellig woods that happened two months before our search began."

"That's why the Hunt was so close?"

"No, it was a coincidence that we're close to Velen, I think it was because they felt my magic, just as they can feel Ciri's," she got closer to Brittany as she spoke. "I've tried everything to find her, every spell that I could think of, I searched in every book that I have, but it's been impossible. The only good think that came out of not accomplish anything was that I was able to convince Emhyr to bring you here."

Brittany smiled, a light blush tainting her cheeks, and said, "I missed you."

Santana's smile could have lightened up the entire castle, Brittany was sure.

 _That_ was her favorite smile. All teeth and the most perfect dimples Brittany had ever seen. She remembered thinking that even when they first met, when they were just children worrying about not messing up the carpet on Brittany's room, or not waking Hayley (Brittany's little sister) or her parents up when her and Santana sneaked away to watch the stars in the highest balcony of the castle.

Brittany laid her hand on Santana's right cheek, the other one not leaving for a second its place between Santana's hands. She started to close the distance separating them until she could feel on her lips Santana's breath, whom closed the remaining gap, resulting in a kiss that both had been waiting since the last one they shared.

That kiss seemed to be the lost piece of a puzzle, the only thing that was missing for them to feel at _home_ again. It was what they were looking for those past years, something to hold on to, a guide and hope for their happy ending, that happy ending they used to dream of. Their hearts beat to a rhythm they both knew like the palm of their hands, calm and constant, taking that warm feeling to each one of their nerve endings. It was overwhelming, so much that Brittany felt her cheek damp, and when the air in her lungs was starting to disappear and she opened her eyes, she saw that Santana hadn't been able to keep her tears at bay. Their foreheads were still together a few seconds later, giving them the perfect excuse to sneak another kiss followed by that smile that was exclusive for each other. Santana then laid her head in Brittany's shoulder, giving Brittany the opportunity to engulf her in a hug, enjoying the perfect atmosphere they had created.

They spend some time that way, until Brittany spoke, much to her dismay. "So."

Santana sighed, knowing that time was an important matter and even if she wanted to stay there, in Brittany's arms, she couldn't. She would have to say goodbye to that warmth for the third time in her life.

"I'd suggest starting with Velen, the last report from our contact, Hendrik, said that Ciri was seen near a swamp, a fight with a witch of some sort was reported, too. He also said that she was with Phillip Stranger, Crow's Perch baron, but the only thing that we found out about that is that he helped her because she was hurt, then she was gone, again."

"Where can I find this Hendrik?"

"He's dead. He used to live in Heartherton, the Hunt found him and tortured him, but I'm pretty sure he didn't say anything."

 _Fuck._

"I guess I'll start with the witch thing."

"There's a village near the swamp, Midcopse, you should ask the villagers, that's the only option for now."

"What about you? Will you stay here?"

"No, I shall go to Novigrad, I'll dig some more for information and I'll see you there, yes?" Brittany nodded, not wanting the farewell that was coming and not liking the idea of Santana going alone. "Hey, I'll be fine, and you wouldn't have to worry about not being able to communicate with me, I'll cast a spell and then we can communicate whenever we want to."

"'Kay, I'd feel much better and less worried, that's for sure."

"Of course you would," Santana smiled at her, Brittany couldn't believe how easy Santana could read her. "Now, even if I absolutely love watching you in a dress, I'd say it would be useless compared to your armor, so go change."

After casting the spell and pointing to the direction of her armor, Santana changed her own clothes, transforming the long skirt into mounting pants, _tight_ mounting pants, but Brittany couldn't think about _that_ now. She shook her head and proceeded to change.

When she emerged from behind the folding screen, with her two swords and her medallion in place, Santana was waiting near the door.

"Here, I thought you'd wanted it," she said as she handed her Ciri's portrait. Sensing her hesitation, she told her with a little blush on her cheeks: "I have others."

Brittany just smiled and accepted it, putting it between the folds of her armor jacket.

"Do you want me to open a portal to Velen?"

Brittany doubted her answer, she was almost sure that if she went through the portal, she would have to leave Lord Tubbington at the palace's stables.

"I know what you're thinking, I'll make sure Tubbs arrives with you."

"Oh, well, in that case, it'd be an honor," she said with a playful smile.

"Be careful, okay? Don't try to be the hero, I want you to come back to me in one piece," Santana kissed her sweetly one more time, a kiss full of expectation for the next time they saw each other, without the sadness and despair of the last kiss they shared, all those years ago.

"I'll see you in Novigrad soon, and I'll talk to you sooner, I promise."

Brittany extended her pinky finger for Santana to take and seal the promise. It was a thing they used to do when they were children. Santana smiled and did just that, somehow feeling more confident about Brittany returning soon to her side.

* * *

Hey, look who managed to write another chapter!

And just in time for tomorrow's festivities so, if you're a Star Wars fan like myself, happy May the 4th!

Anyway, thanks to Guest #1, Guest #2, Guest #3, and rg521 for the reviews. As you could see, this was more of a filler because of all the backstory that I tried to put in there, but I think it's necessary to get things moving. I'm thinking of doing a Ciri's and a Santana's POV, would you like that? Please tell me in the reviews :)

Oh, I replaced Sam with Mike as you can see. I also fixed that on last chapter. I always wanted Mike as the "bard" but I guess I got distracted and mixed them up, sorry.

Again, all mistakes are mine. Hope you enjoyed!

 **Dany. (04/03/2017, 21:30 P.M)**

 **P.S. You can also find this story on AO3 and you can find me on Tumblr as thisisnotourparadise . tumblr . com. Love you!**


	3. Wandering In The Dark

**Wandering in The Dark.**

The portal opened just beneath the Hanged Man's Tree.

The bodies hanging from its huge branches were swaying with the wind, some had probably been put there that same day, others had been rotting there for years, of some of them only remained bones, but from each and one of them, a vulture had feed.

Brittany looked around her, finding Lord Tubbington at the path beneath the tree; he seemed restless.

"What is it, boy?"

Brittany would've investigate why her medallion was buzzing on a normal day, more than once it meant a new job and extra crowns, and for a Witcher, money was always welcome, but she needed to be at Midcopse more than anything. The money that the Emperor gave her would have to suffice for a few days until she found a contract or until Santana and her would reunite.

"Let's get out of here, Tubbs, I know that ghouls scare you, and judging by these corpses, they're not far away".

Midcopse was a few hours away by horse. They arrived past midday, with the weather at a reasonable temperature. Velen could have very abrasive summers, and even though her armor was as light as possible, Brittany knew that she had to work fast before the heat turned unbearable.

 _I should've asked for a spell for this to Santana._

With that thought in mind, she remembered that she had to contact her before Santana started to worry.

She got out of the main road, searching for some privacy beneath the shadows of the trees. She adopted a position similar from when she was meditating.

"Uh… San?" Brittany wasn't sure of how the spell really worked, but if Santana had said that they could communicate _whenever they wanted_ then calling for her might be a good start.

" _Britt, thank goodness, I was starting to get worried."_

"I'm fine, I got here earlier than I thought, even with the roads so destroyed."

" _I figured, there were battles everywhere a fortnight ago, I'm pretty sure that you will find soldiers from both sides in your search."_

"Well, I assure you that I'm not really looking forward to that."

Brittany could hear the telltale noises of Midcopse's inhabitants; children laughing, merchants, a hammer hitting an anvil, the breeze touching the leaves of the trees, the grass and the flowers in the soil, there was nothing indicating the presence of any kind of witch, which meant that she would have to ask around, and that doesn't end up well most of the time.

"What about you? Is Novigrad still in one piece?"

" _And I'm afraid that it will continue that way for a long time. There's no sings of the war anywhere, but they sure did a good job diverting the attention from that,"_ Brittany could hear Santana sigh, between awed and frightened by the situation. " _When you come here you'll understand, for now I can't talk much about it. But I'm fine, I'm safe and you wouldn't guess with whom I ran into at_ The Chameleon."

 _The Chameleon_ was kind of a tavern with live performances every now and then. It was located near the main entrance of Novigrad, and it belonged to none other than Mike Chang.

"Probably not Mike, that wouldn't be a surprise… some ex-lover that I have to worry about, perhaps?"

" _Ha, ha, you know there's only ever been you,"_ Santana's voice changed, making her sound vulnerable, and Brittany couldn't do anything but feel the same old _warmth_ across her chest. " _No, but, I want it to be a surprise, maybe that way you'll come here faster."_

"Well, you know I love surprises," Brittany had to bite her tongue so the _and I love you_ that she wanted to say didn't scape from her mouth. She wanted to say those three words, but she wanted to say them facing Santana, not between the thick walls of a castle full of sadness and hatred, and not without looking her in the eyes. "I guess I shall hurry, then. I'd like to find that witch before it gets dark. Take care of yourself, yes? Don't get yourself in trouble."

" _Me? Getting into trouble? Never."_

They shared one last laugh before parting, leaving Brittany worried about the _situation_ Santana mentioned and hoping to reach Novigrad before it became a larger problem.

She got out of the shadow of the three, willing to continue with her search of… something. She wasn't sure about what exactly she had to find.

 _Perhaps asking directly won't be a bad idea._

She walked between the houses, trying to listen to something that could indicate the right path to follow, a lead, a commentary from people involved in paranormal activity, problems solved in unconventional ways, anything. If the witch was there, the common folk had to talk about her for sure.

A couple of minutes passed until something caught her attention.

"Niells had a nasty back pain since he tried to catch the pigs that got loose a few days ago, so I forced him to go see her, he was taking advantage of that to do nothing in the house."

"Men are such assholes sometimes."

Brittany could see the two women talking. She decided that they were her best option for now.

"Good morning, ladies, I'm sorry to interrupt but I heard you talking about someone who helped your husband and I was wondering if you could point me to the right direction to find her."

"You're not from around here, eh?" answered one of them with hesitation in her eyes.

"No, I'm just passing by, but I'd like to know more about the healing abilities of this person."

"She doesn't like to be bothered by foreigners, but if you have some extra crowns she could help you," the woman whom Brittany presumed was the wife of this Niells person answered. "You just have to get out of the village following the river and you'll see a giant boulder, then you'll have to turn right and follow the trail until you see a wrecked carriage, after that you'll turn left until you find a house, that's where she lives."

"I thank you, have an excellent day."

Brittany was always confused by directions, but she knew that she had to make do.

 _Boulder to the right, carriage to the left, it's not that complicated, right?_

She walked for less than fifteen minutes and even if she wanted to ignore the hut that most likely was the one that she was looking for, the people gathered outside would have make it impossible.

"Please, miss, our cows are dying, we only need a simple remedy," a young woman was saying.

"We promise to never bother you again if you help us."

Brittany moved a little to the right to be able to see the woman, for the people didn't let her see anything. What she saw was a woman relatively young, as most of the sorceresses that she knew, with blonde hair and green eyes, a dress reveling _a lot_ of cleavage in blue and red hues and various necklaces in different forms around her neck.

"Fine, fine, I'll give you something," she seemed to pull out of the bags in her hips a mixture of herbs. "Put this in the cows' water every night and when there's a full moon, give them a double portion, that should be enough to cure them."

"Oh, thank you, miss, thank you!"

She smiled at them and when she moved her head she realized that Brittany was watching her. She didn't seem worried, she seemed _interested_ even. The sorceress turned around and got back into her house, closing the door behind her.

 _Here we go._

Upon entering the house, her Witcher senses warned her that something was not right.

The witch was nowhere to be seen, and, unless she was invisible, she was no longer in the house. It could be that she had teleported somewhere else or that there was a portal that could be activated somewhere.

"Let's see what she has here."

Books, herbs, trinkets, decorations, artifacts to make potions, typical sorceress things, Brittany thought, although there a thing that was almost calling her: a skull with various runes.

Her medallion started to vibrate. The moment she moved the skull, a portal opened.

 _I got you._

Entering a portal was always a weird experience. They make her stomach feel funny and she felt disoriented for a moment, but they were nothing compared to the Witcher potions that she used when she had a contract to fulfill. Potions made her feel exhausted at the end, and getting them out of her system was, to put it one way, _awkward._

The portal leaded to some type of cave with plenty of vegetation and, strangely, tiny animals like rabbits and squirrels, but what really caught Brittany's attention was the structure in front of her: what seemed like a bathtub of ridiculous proportions above a hillock formed in the cave.

"Don't stay there, come here so I can share my lunch with someone, it's sad to eat alone." that was _not_ the voice of the sorceress, it was the voice of a _man_.

Brittany was confused, which caused for her to climb the stairs a lot faster.

"Sam?"

"Hey, Britt, long time no see, would you like to join me?"

Sam Evans was a part of King Foltest of Temeria's court. His assassination was one of the reasons why the Third War against Nilfgaard and the Northern Realms began. When his king died, Sam ended up in Velen to hide, apparently.

"Here, take a seat," he said with a tired smile.

"I didn't know that you spend your days as a woman now."

Sam sighed. "I don't always do it, when I don't they think I'm the assistant, you know that they trust less in mages than in sorceresses. Besides, it's better to not draw attention, Radovid's been hunting sorceresses, alchemists, and everything that has to do with magic."

Brittany felt sick.

 _Radovid's been hunting sorceresses._ That meant that Santana was in more danger than she first thought. She wanted to get out of that cave and cross Velen all the way north to reach Novigrad, but she knew that she couldn't go anywhere without some type of information about Ciri's whereabouts. She had to trust Santana; if she'd said that she was safe, Brittany had to believe her.

"You seem like you saw a ghost, was it something I said?"

Brittany let herself fall on the chair, putting her hands on her eyes to try to get rid of the few tears that were there. She knew that Santana could take her of herself, and judging by their conversation, Brittany knew that she was in company of someone who could help her if needed, but that didn't mean that she wasn't feeling useless. Apart they were capable of many things, but together they were capable of _everything._

Brittany trusted Sam, she knew that he wouldn't do anything to cause Santana or Ciri any pain, but she didn't want to put him in danger by letting him know about her mission. She would have to let him decide if he wanted to get involved or not.

"Ciri's back".

Sam's worried expression disappeared and a surprised one took its place. He rearranged the chair in which he was seated so he could look at Brittany in the eyes. He knew perfectly that she wouldn't joke with something like that, but he definitely wanted to be sure.

"And you think she passed through here? I hope that's not the case because…" Sam stopped abruptly.

"Because of the witch hunters? I wouldn't worry about them, in fact, they should be worried about Ciri, a couple of them wouldn't have a chance against her, not even If she had a hand tied up to her back".

"No, no, I know that… listen, I didn't know that you were looking for her, but I did know that she was back," he answered with a voice that Brittany wasn't used to.

Would it be possible that, after all, Sam was the one that Ciri confronted? If that was the case and he had hurt her, Brittany was ready to do _something_ about it.

"Before you go further with whatever scenario you're imagining, let me say that I didn't saw her. An elf came some months ago asking me for help, an Aen Elle sage, judging by his clothes. He had a mask covering his face and he was aware that I knew Ciri," Brittany tried to interrupt after hearing that. "No, I don't know how. He was pretty sure that she would come looking for me. He told me that he was traveling with her, protecting her, but they were attacked and got separated when they were escaping."

"Sam, you do realize that he could be the one chasing her?"

"I know it sounds strange, but he looked genuinely worried, I think that he was kind of obsessed about finding her, I wonder if they had like a romance or something…"

"Sam! Focus!"

"Sure, sure, sorry, but he did seem worried about her safety."

"What did he say, exactly?" Brittany asked. She was losing her patience and Sam was as distracted as ever.

"He said that he was sure she was going to come searching for me because I was the only mage in Velen, and that, when that happened, I had to take her to some _hidden ruins near the forgotten shores of south Velen,"_ Brittany supposed that Sam was trying to imitate the elf's voice. It was comforting to know that some things would never change.

She sighed again. "Sam, I need you to take me to these ruins. I understand if you don't want to get involved in this with Radovid so close."

"What? Are you crazy? Of course, I'll help you!" relief flooded through her, and Sam noticed. "Britt, I know we weren't the best of friends, but Ciri knew how to make everyone in the Lodge love her."

Brittany offered him a small smile and relocated her hand in his arm, feeling how the mood had shifted after the mention of the Lodge and the implication behind it to him: the loss of his sister.

Sam returned her smile and got up of the chair, nearing the stairs and indicating for Brittany to follow him. When she was near him, he opened a portal that, Brittany supposed, was going to led them to the ruins.

* * *

"Do you think Ciri's come yet?"

"I'm sure she hasn't, the elf would've closed the entrance."

Brittany's first impression upon entering the cave was how _huge_ it was, then, after a quick look, she realized that it was _not_ a cave, they were ancient elven ruins that ran beneath Velen.

They went down the stairs and everything started to turn black, so Brittany lighted up one of the torches with a move from her fingers.

" _Gavella glan!_ " exclaimed Sam and immediately a white light surrounded him, illuminating his path.

They walked cautiously to the second flight of stairs, where they saw four figures that Brittany recognized.

She took Sam's arm and whispered, "It's the Hunt."

"The Wild Hunt?" there was an incredulous tone in Sam's voice. Brittany didn't blame him, she thought for the longest time that the Hunt was just some story that adults told their children to frighten them and make them behave.

"Yes, they must be looking for that elf, too," one of the figures threw their arms in the air and a small blizzard wrapped around them until they disappeared. "They have a Navigator with them, they can teleport anywhere, do you think you can do that with a portal?"

"Unless there's a blockade, I can. But just to the other side, they clearly know more about this place than I do."

Brittany was starting to hate portals.

Upon reaching the other side, they could really see how old that place was. Most of the walls were rubble and the stairs were destroyed, not to mention the darkness that they would be in if it weren't for Sam and his spell.

They walked through the aisles carefully, fearing that the roof was going to fall on them and avoiding the rubble in the ground. Their search between the corridors was not successful, until a circular base with inscriptions of the elder speech caught their attention.

A white circular light emerged from the base until taking a human form, more specifically, an _elven_ form.

" _Ceádmil, lara luned. A_ _ecáemm_ _g_ _láeddyv."_

"A morphic projection," sighed Sam, surprised after the message.

"A what projection?"

"Something akin to a postbox for mages, safer than a letter which anyone can intercept," he explained.

"Well, whatever it was, he's talking to Ciri. _Daughter of the Seagull,_ Lara Dorren's heir."

"That much was clear, but, what did he mean with 'follow your sword'?"

" _Zireael,_ that was the name of Ciri's sword. Swallow."

"So, if we find a swallow around here and follow the leads, we should find something?"

Brittany shrugged, hoping that _that_ something they were looking for was worth it, because she really wanted to get out of Velen as soon as possible. She had to be with Santana, she couldn't take any risks, and she didn't want her to be in Novigrad alone.

Finding the swallow symbol was easy, the frustrating thing was finding another circular base with _another_ message, telling Ciri to follow Kelpie. Sam thought he was talking about the sea monster, but Brittany remembered that Kelpie was also the name of the first mare Santana and she gave Ciri. It seemed that the elf had a close relationship with Ciri judging by all the details about her that he knew. She didn't know If she had to worry or be glad that Ciri found someone to trust in that way.

Their search led them to a huge chamber, and they realized that they had finally reached the Riders from the Hunt. But it seemed that they were waiting for Brittany and Sam, as what appeared to be a Mage saw them and, before exiting the room with the others, casted a spell with his scepter.

" _Shaent tah'vir!_ "

A cold breeze wrapped around them and three black voids appeared, allowing the cold to enter the room.

"What is that?" Sam screamed.

"It's the White Frost, that Mage summoned it, we have to protect ourselves!"

"I can do it!" Sam moved his arms and then exclaimed," _Da'arian annoi!"_

A shield of energy protected them from the cold, but Brittany knew that they had to close the voids if they wanted to get to pass through the room. Sam knew this too, so he started to walk to the nearest void and casted another spell to close it.

" _Bhain'ne calar!"_

Before Sam could begin to close it, various hounds got out of the void. Brittany grabbed her silver sword to kill it and defend Sam while he worked on his spell. She focused on the task at hand, hoping to get out of there and see the sunlight once again.

When all the voids were gone, Brittany noticed that Sam had collapsed. He was exhausted. "Sam, if you need to go, go. I don't want you to put yourself in any more danger, you're not looking that well."

Sam laughed. "Don't worry about me, I feel like we're almost there. Just, help me get up."

Once he was on his feet again, they continued their journey through the ruins until yet _another_ morphic projection made its appearance, the only difference was that this one seemed like it had been seen before. Perhaps they were too late, and the Hunt already had the information about Ciri that they wanted. Nevertheless, they approached it until the elf appeared again.

" _Zireael, this place is no longer safe, do not tarry here long. Trust no one. Try to reach the place where last we were together._ "

"That's not very telling." Brittany was disappointed, they risked a lot by going to the ruins, only to return to were she was in the beginning: without any clue of where Ciri was. The bright side was that the Hunt had nothing to go on with their search either.

Sam came up behind her and tapped her shoulder. "It's a good thing that we were here, though. They could've destroyed this place and we wouldn't have been able to find this," he said while handing her a piece of paper.

It was a page of a diary, most likely from the elven sage.

"So Ciri did come to Velen, she just never reached these ruins," Brittany said after reading it. "She was with the Baron as Santana said, and after she left Crow's Perch she went to Novigrad, but I doubt that's the last place where they were together."

"At least this little trip was worth it, I was starting to really lose hope."

"Speaking of, I have a proposition for you." Brittany had been thinking about him and the danger that he was in with King Radovid's witch hunters so close. The least she could do for him after all his help was offering the only protection that she was able to.

"Aren't you back with Santana?" he asked, confused.

Brittany only laughed, knowing how Sam was. "Yes, we are, it has nothing to do with what you´re thinking," Sam nodded, clearly relieved. "I just want you to think about it, you don't have to say yes right away, but after what you told me about the witch hunters and the help that you provided here, I want to offer you a safe place. Go to Kaer Morhen, Shelby will be glad for the company and I'm sure Mercedes and Sugar will be, too."

Not a second passed before Sam was nodding again and hugging her. "I don't have much here, Britt, and it can get pretty lonely sometimes. Thanks for the offer, I think I'm going to accept it."

They separated, and Brittany was glad that Sam accepted her offer. "Just tell whoever is there that I send you. And thank you, Sam, really."

He created one last portal and got them out of the ruins and into Sam's place at Midcopse, saying goodbye to Brittany when she started to make her way to Lord Tubbington to get out of Velen.

After all, they were a step closer to find Ciri and she finally was going to be with Santana again. She just hoped to reach her before it was too late.

* * *

All mistakes are mine, I hope to see you again next time! I didn't like the ending that much, maybe I'll change it later, tho. Also, I posted a little one shot which takes place in this same universe. I plan to make more to explain some moments and to explain Brittany and Santana's story, tell me what you think!

Dany. (01/17/2018, 01:34)

P.S. I changed the name of the story, soon I'll change the summary too, just so you know. Thank you, bye! 3


	4. Pyres of Novigrad

**Pyres of Novigrad.**

Santana hadn't been to the Free City of Novigrad in years, but she was sure that the pyres gracing Hierarch Square were a new acquisition.

Unfortunately, King Radovid seemed to have found who to demonize to redirect attention from the war. After all, whoever had Novigrad's control, and thanks to the money the citizens could provide, could win the upper hand in the war. And Radovid knew this.

The Square grew dark thanks to the shadows casted by the buildings that surrounded it, and as she got closer to the center of it, the clearer were the words coming from the man in charge of setting the pyres on fire.

"Our Novigrad – shining and brilliant! Pearl amongst cities! Cradle of the Eternal Fire! ", the man giving the speech in front of all the people seemed very passionate. His head and his beard were cleanly shaved, so what most stood out about him were his eyes. Blue as the sky. His left eye was diminished by an enormous scar reaching, almost, his chin.

He made a pause, taking his sweet time to throw a torch to the base of the pyre by his right. The sorceress tied to it started screaming immediately. The man tied to the other pyre could only watch, knowing well that that was the same destiny waiting for him.

"No evil can survive the Holy Fire! The Holy Fire enlightens, burns and cleanses! ", a few people repeated after him. "Behold the Flame of grace and mercy!"

But Santana couldn't look anymore.

How many supposed sorceresses had been burned at the stake already? How many mages, herbalists and alchemists? How many innocent people that were against that regime? Santana had seen at least three pyres: the two in front of her and one in the entrance. She just hoped that her contact was still alive.

Kitty Wilde had been her classmate at Aretuza, they weren't exactly the best of friends, but it was always a good thing to have someone to rely on when you were new at the best school of sorcery.

She knew it was dangerous to pay her a visit in full daylight, so she decided to head to _The Chameleon,_ which she wouldn't have done if Brittany hadn't make it clear that the rumors about her and Mike were just that. Santana never had problems with him, they were always friendly with each other and she was eternally grateful with him for everything he had done for Brittany, so she supposed she could make a stop there to thank him personally.

Upon arriving she heard people yelling and something breaking. Three shabby people run past her, almost making her end up on her back.

"Santana?"

She entered _The Chameleon_ completely, and even though she suspected who was the one calling her, she wanted to see them with her own eyes. It had been years since they last saw each other, after her time with the Hunt, her recovery at the hands of the Empire and her incessant search for Ciri, she hadn't had the opportunity to reconnect with people from her past, so the idea of doing it excited her.

"Artie!", she answered finally, making her way towards him to hug him. "Of all the people I was hoping to find here, you were definitely not one of them."

"I'm glad to see you again, too, Tana", Artie said while laughing. "What made you come to our colorful city?"

Santana took a seat in one of the chairs still standing near Artie. The place was a total mess, there were food and mead spilled everywhere, almost all the chairs and tables were destroyed and more than one window were broken.

"I'm looking for someone, Kitty, a sorceress, the most idiotic thing to be doing right now with all the witch hunts happening."

"Oh, my dear Santana, you are in luck", Santana looked at him confused, which Artie took as a signal to continue talking. "Kitty's been hiding, obviously, but she's come a couple of times in the past few weeks, she had an appointment today."

"Art, you make it sound like you two are having sex", Santana looked at him. "Gods, _are_ you having sex?"

Artie just laughed. "Not yet. But that's not the important thing, if you need to talk to her, I know where to find her, although I still don't understand why you need her, are you in trouble?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that, at least not yet", she sighed, knowing full well that Artie had a right to know about the search that was taking place. "Brittany and I are searching for Ciri, we believe she's in trouble and that she needs our help."

Artie's face lighted up. Santana knew that he was going to be happy to know that Ciri was back, and even more so because of the implication that Brittany and she were back together. She was just glad to count on someone in Novigrad, at least meanwhile Brittany finished investigating Velen. Gods, she hoped that that was soon. She was starting to get worried because she hadn't felt Brittany trying to communicate with her.

"Santana, that's the best sentence I've heard in months. I'm serious", he extended his arms, so Santana could hug him again, and, after smiling and rolling her eyes playfully, she did. "Listen, why don't' you go upstairs and rest for a little bit? I'm sure there's a room that's not completely wrecked, after that I'll tell you how to find Kitty and you can ask me why this place is like it is."

Santana nodded and started to get up the stairs whilst Artie moved his chair between broken vases and rotten food.

Just as Artie had said, of the various rooms _The Chameleon_ possessed, just one was in condition to be used. Santana didn't know what had made this place look so bad, and she sincerely couldn't wait to ask Artie.

Not even five minutes had passed when she started to feel a little throbbing in her head. She recognized the effect from the spell that she had put on Brittany and on herself, so she took a seat in the worn-out mattress that was on the floor.

" _Uh… San?"_ though she hadn't explained exactly how the spell worked to her, Santana knew that Brittany would find a way to make it work. She always did.

"Britt, thank goodness, I was starting to get worried."

" _I'm fine, I got here earlier than I thought, even with the roads so destroyed."_

"I figured, there were battles everywhere a fortnight ago, I'm pretty sure that you will find soldiers from both sides in your search."

" _Well, I assure you that I'm not really looking forward to that."_

Santana could hear the telltale sounds of Novigrad in the distance. Merchants trying to sell their products, costumers trying to bargain the prices, chit chats between groups scattered around the Square, the fire from the pyres and the drowned scream of one of the two victims. She could swear she could still hear that man preaching about how great the city was and how they should unite the Church of the Eternal Fire. She didn't want to imagine what would happen if that ideology started to make itself present in all the other Northern Realms; Emperor Emyr was not fond of sorceresses nor people adept to magic, but at least he treated them as _human beings_ , not like animals ready for the slaughter house.

" _What about you? Is Novigrad still in one piece?"_

"And I'm afraid that it will continue that way for a long time. There's no sings of the war anywhere, but they sure did a good job diverting the attention from that," Santana didn't want to worry Brittany, she knew that the moment that she knew about the pyres and the witch hunts she would do anything to reach Novigrad. "When you come here you'll understand, for now I can't talk much about it. But I'm fine, I'm safe and you wouldn't guess with whom I ran into at The Chameleon."

" _Probably not Mike, that wouldn't be a surprise… some ex-lover that I have to worry about, perhaps?"_

"Ha, ha, you know there's only ever been you," Santana felt how her own voice turned soft and her cheeks warmed up. She would never not be surprised at how Brittany made her feel, even if they weren't in the same room. "No, but, I want it to be a surprise, maybe that way you'll come here faster."

" _Well, you know I love surprises,"_ she was sure that Brittany wanted to say something else, but at the last time, she held her tongue. _"I_ _guess I shall hurry, then._ _I'd like to find that witch before it gets dark. Take care of yourself, yes? Don't get yourself in trouble."_

"Me? Getting into trouble? Never."

They shared one last laugh before parting ways. She hoped Brittany's situation was easier that the one Santana was facing. After all, she would have to be extra careful with her movements, the questions she asked, with whom she talked and with whom she was being watched so she could avoid raise suspicion and not had a run face to face with the witch hunters. She could handle a few, but she had seen that the patrols were not far behind each other, so it was better to stay out of trouble while she was in Novigrad.

She rested a few minutes more and she got up to make her way downstairs, so she could talk with Artie one more time about Kitty and about what had happened with _The Chameleon._ After Brittany had mentioned Mike, she was curious to know where he was and why he had let the place go to waste like that. It wasn't something that the Mike she remembered would do.

Artie caught sight of her immediately.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"First things first, where's Mike?"

Artie sighed. "I don't know. I've been wondering the same for several weeks know", Santana took a seat near him once more. "You know that after my accident Mike asked me to oversee _The Chameleon,_ and it seemed like my best option, which it was, believe me, but some months ago Mike started to seem… distracted. He got out in the middle of the night only to return at midday the next day, sometimes he didn't even change his clothes and he could go on like that for days. As you can imagine, the business started to fail. More because of Mike not being here for his presentations than for the lack of money. Soon enough, people just stopped coming and a few days before he disappeared a group of bandits broke in and made all this mess."

"Is there some trace that we could follow to get to him?"

"Several, but all of them were dead ends. There's one that seems promising, but with so many things happening in the city I haven't been able to follow it."

"Perhaps I could help you."

"Yes, but right now you have to pay Kitty a visit."

Santana knew that Artie was right, but she couldn't avoid feeling in conflict. Mike had helped Brittany when she needed it most, the least she could do to help him was to help Artie and find him. If that lead was good enough, she could even use magic to know Mike's whereabouts.

"Trust me, when I get Kitty to help me I'll come back, and we will search for Mike, okay?"

"Don't worry, Mike can take care of himself, his persuasion abilities are still intact, if he got himself in trouble, he can make it out alive", Santana knew that both of them hoped that Artie was right, they even wanted for Mike to be doing what he was best at with the willing ladies of Novigrad, but it seemed that, for once, that wasn't the case. "Now, Kitty will probably be at the Putrid Grove _",_ Santana snorted, and Artie rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, that's such a horrible name. I imagine what kind of people are regulars."

"And you probably are right. Anyway, it's right next to Hierarch Square, the front is made of wood and the door is always closed. It has a peephole so, when they ask you who you are, say the password, 'the old sow's farrowed piglets.'"

Santana laughed again. She couldn't believe how ridiculous all of that was, but if all that ridiculousness meant getting closer to Ciri, then she was willing to even imitate the old sow's farrowing if necessary.

"Hilarious. Simply hilarious", she got up and patted Artie in the back. "You're my savior, Art, I'll see you in a couple of hours."

"Be careful, Santana."

She turned around before exiting _The Chameleon_ and smiled. "I will, after all, we have a bard to save."

* * *

The man guarding the door looked at her carefully. Santana was almost sure that she would have to use a little bit of magic, so he could let her in, not really the best thing to do in broad daylight.

"Yer new around 'ere, eh?"

Santana nodded. "I just arrived, and someone told me that I could come here and rest for a little bit."

The man looked at her again, and after a couple of seconds he shrugged and opened the door for her.

She didn't know what she expected of a place called _The Putrid Grove,_ but the name fitted. The yard, in its majority mud, was surrounded by several tall buildings that casted their shadows upon it and a nasty smell penetrated her nose. People were walking around, but one building caught her attention. It seemed to be the tallest one, and the torches lit near the door made it impossible for it to go unnoticed. That and the shadows that she could see from within made her think that it was the only one with some kind of activity, so Santana made her way towards it, carefully avoiding the mud so her boots wouldn't get dirty.

"You must help us! Without you we won't be able to get them all out of the city", a woman yelled.

"Kitty, listen to me, if you want to get them all out you're going to need much more than what you're asking of me, even with my help it wouldn't be enough. I'm not trying to screw you over on purpose, you must understand that."

"Am I interrupting something?" said Santana, hoping to stop that discussion of escalating to something more violent.

"Santana", mumbled Kitty, surprised to see her after all those years.

"Who's this, Kitty?"

" _This_ is Santana Lopez, of Vengerberg", answered Santana with her head high and looking him in the eyes. If she couldn't take pride in her name, then she had nothing. After all those battles, all those political schemes, all those skirmishes that she had survived, she had become a sort of legend.

"Ah, the sorceress from Vengerberg. Nice place, hasn't suffered much because of the war, although it was easy for the Emperor to conquer Aedirn after the Dragonslayer disappeared mysteriously".

Santana rolled her eyes. She was certain that, after all the times she had done it that day, she would be blind by the end of it. Saskia, the Dragonslayer, had won the battle against King Henselt for Aedirn's control, but after what had happened at Loc Muinne, she had disappeared _mysteriously,_ as the man had said. As always, Brittany had been involved in that story. She probably knew what had been of Saskia, but that was a topic for another day.

"Yes, I've heard that as well, and you are?"

"Francis Bedlam, King of Beggars", he answered whilst doing a small curtsy. "I can see you have urgent business, I'll let you to it."

Santana looked at Kitty.

She had bags under her eyes and her clothes seemed to have been worn more than once in that week. Santana hated looking at her in a situation like that. Being at the Academy they always thought that their futures were brilliant. Helping people, being the trusted advisors of Kings and Queens, making their names an institution. Now all of that seemed to be in the past, destroyed by the harsh reality of life and the intolerance and fear that some people felt towards their kind.

"Charming fellow, with what do you need his help?"

"It will be better if we talk somewhere else. Come with me, I have a job to do near the docks, we can talk there."

They got out of the Grove, making sure that no one was following them, and, even though they had capes covering their faces, with all the things happening in Novigrad, no precaution was enough. Kitty signaled a warehouse when they arrived at the docks and took a key from her bag to open the door.

"What's this job about?"

"It was a lie, I had to get us out of there", answered Kitty. After a long sigh, she continued. "I need Francis's help to get all of those who can be accused of magic out of Novigrad."

Santana was surprised. It seemed that the years hadn't passed in vain for Kitty, from being a spoiled selfish brat she turned into someone who wanted the help those in need. Her cause was noble, but Santana wasn't so sure about her succeeding.

"What do you need, exactly?", the Emperor had given her access to a _lot_ of money without putting his chances of winning the war at risk. Maybe she could help Kitty with some crowns if she needed them.

"Money, time, and for more people to be aware of our effort to get them out of here."

"I could help you with the money, but I need you to do something for me in return. In other circumstances I would've done it without asking something from you, but I'm in a desperate situation, too."

"I figured, no one comes to Novigrad by their own free will if they don't have serious business to attend", said Kitty without a trace of resentment in her voice. "I understand, Santana, don't worry. How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for something that can lead me to Ciri, would you happen to know something? Haven't you heard a thing that could get me in the right track to find her? Something that Francis or his beggars said?"

"Ciri. It's good to know that she's back, though for the tone of your voice I'm guessing she's in trouble", Kitty tried to remember something that could help Santana in her search, but, unfortunately, there was nothing leading to Cirilla's whereabouts. "I can't recall something that you might find useful, but I know someone in the city who might be able to help you. Her name's Corinne Tilly, she has a room at the Golden Sturgeon."

"I'll go pay her a visit."

"When you're finished with that, go see me at _The Chameleon_ , it's my hideout for the week", she said with disdain. It seemed that no one liked to be at _The Chameleon_ lately, and Santana couldn't blame her after having see it with her own eyes.

"I will. Until then, try to not get caught."

She got out of the warehouse and followed the docks as if she was headed to downtown. In one of the corners was a little tavern with just two floors; the Golden Sturgeon was the same as she remembered. The costumers were normally tired fishermen who just finished their shifts and wanted to wind down, even the most tired travelers that only wanted to rest immediately after getting down of their ships.

She entered and got close to the bar.

"I'm looking for Corinne Tilly."

The woman in charge just made a gesture with her hand, indicating that she could find her in the rooms upstairs. Santana found it curious that, meanwhile some people with magical abilities were running away from the city or hiding so they could save their lives, Corinne seemed to be doing exactly the opposite. The only logic explanation that she could come up with was that Corinne somehow had been able to hide that she was a sorceress, but, how?

Santana followed the magic aura that she felt upon reaching the stairs until she got to a room almost at the end of the aisle. She knocked at the door.

"Yes?", she heard from the other side of the door.

"Corinne? I'm a friend of Kitty's, she told me that you might be able to help me with something."

The door opened, reveling a sorceress with light brown hair and green eyes. "Santana Lopez, to what do I owe this honor?", surprisingly, Corinne's voice didn't have that mocking tone that Santana was waiting for, she seemed genuinely surprised by her visit.

"I need you help to find someone, Kitty said that you could help me."

Corinne nodded and let her enter the room, locking the door behind Santana.

"I guess you don't know how I can help you, yet", Santana shook her head and Corinne continued. "I specialize in oneiromancy."

Santana blinked a couple of times. She had never met someone with such a gift, and with that knowledge she understood why it had been so easy for Corinne to hide and not raise suspicion from the Witch Hunters: oneiromancy wasn't associated with magic as other abilities were. It was thought that one could posses that ability without being a sorceress or a mage.

"So, based on my dreams you'll help me see the past."

"Exactly. Not just the past, I'll guide you, so you can find the answers that you seek for, but for that we must reach a… _mental accord._ I'll have to ask you some questions and you must answer them. It's of the utmost importance that you answer them truthfully and with your heart."

"I understand, but, first, could you explain to me how it functions, exactly? I had never met someone with your talent."

"It's hard to describe, I have to understand the bond between the person and the object that I have to dream, that's what the questions are for, so I can try to understand the feelings behind the bond", she paused for a moment. "I'm not going to see the dream, it's going to be you, I'll just guide you, so you see what you need to know in your dream."

Santana nodded. Talking about feelings had never been her strong suit, but, if her family was at risk, she would do anything. She would just have to maintain her composure while Corinne made her questions, questions that were going to go personal _very_ quickly, she believed.

"Alright, to begin with, I need you to tell me a memory you have about the person that you're seeking", Corinne walked to a table and took a seat, indicating Santana to do the same after grabbing an apple from the fruit platter.

"Ciri, her name's Ciri", Santana thought about what she could tell Corinne about. Not because she was untrusty of her, but because she knew that the memory had to be _complete_. It had to really capture her feelings and her bond with Ciri perfectly. "I remember when I first met her. Brittany and I had had our ups and downs in the past, but, a year before Ciri came to us, we had decided to take some time away from each other. So, imagine how surprised I was when a little girl appeared at my door in my house at Vengerberg, with a letter from Brittany pleading me to watch after the child and to try and teach her how to canalize her magic", Santana laughed at the memory of Ciri, with her too big riding pants and a white shirt stained with mud and dust. "I was furious at Brittany for putting me in that position, because she knew that I couldn't turn Ciri away, not with those eyes and those chubby cheeks. With time, Ciri and I began to connect in a lot of ways, and yes, I missed Brittany like crazy, but Ciri had filled that void in me. Ciri is the best gift that Brittany has ever given me, and I'm still trying to find a way to repay her."

Corinne nodded. "I need you to tell me something more, if you agree."

Santana cleaned her eyes to stop the tears from falling. She could feel that Corinne was trying to not overstep and for that, she was thankful, but she knew that she had to continue so the dream could aim to be precise and show her what she had to know, so she continued.

"The first Yule we were together, was, ironically, full of firsts. For starters, it was Ciri's first literal Yule celebration, at least that she could remember. It was also the first time that she called us her mothers", Santana laughed again. "I will never forget her face when she asked us how she should call us if we were both women. Brittany was almost crying, and I was so shocked that I couldn't even think of what to tell her. We were paralyzed until Ciri began to look restless, thinking that she had done or said something wrong and I just, kneeled in front of her and hugged her, telling her that she could call us whatever she wanted. Obviously, she just smiled and told us that she was going to figure it out before she took off to play with the snow."

"That was beautiful, Santana, thank you for sharing it with me. Would you like to tell me something more?"

Santana swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"It was in Brittany's hometown, Rivia, were we almost died. After the end of the Second Nilfgaardian War things were… tense. A lot of villagers were starting to riot over races, turning against elves, dwarves, their own neighbors, I think it could've been the star of all this hatred towards non-humans", she paused and took a deep breath. "Brittany was trying to stop it, but a young man ran through and stabbed her with a pitchfork in the chest, it was the worst sight of my life, I didn't know what to do, so I tried to save her with magic. It wasn't working, though. And I was dying, too. The last thing I remember was Ciri getting us out of there. That was the last time we saw her."

"Thank you, I think we can work with that. Those were some powerful memories, Santana, it will be easier for me to help you."

Corinne signaled her to lay back on the twin bed at the other side of the room. Santana obliged, getting comfortable so she could fall asleep easier.

"Now, take my hand and I will guide you through your dreams."

Santana did as told and quickly she started to fall asleep. All the adrenaline of the day was finally leaving her, and she realized just how exhausted she really was. Soon enough, she started to dream. At first it was just flashbacks of all the memories that she had told Corinne about, but they changed quickly.

She dreamt of _The Chameleon,_ when it was in perfect shape. She saw Mike arguing with someone and a swallow flying around his head. She realized that the swallow was the one Mike was arguing with. He seemed stressed, and the bird didn't stop pestering him until he nodded his head and slumped his shoulders in defeat.

As soon as it had started, it ended, and Santana woke up feeling disoriented. Corinne was still holding her hand.

"How much was I out?"

"A couple of hours, it's normal. Did you find something useful in your dream?"

"Yeah, I think I have to find someone else to find Ciri", she answered, exasperated. It seemed like she was never going to catch up with her, always a step behind but never really moving forward.

"I'm happy I helped you, you can stay here if you want, I have another bed", offered Corinne.

"Thank you, but I think I must get going, I have someone else to talk to and it's late", she got up and moved towards the door. "I'll be sure to give Kitty your regards, and if you need anything, please tell me, I'll be happy to help you in return", Corinne nodded one more time before Santana got out of her room.

The sun was already down when Santana left the Golden Sturgeon.

She felt that something was wrong immediately after turning left in one of the corridors that led to Hierarch Square. There were at least three shadows lurking around, and she knew she was in trouble when they started approaching her. Santana was not afraid to fight with them, but she was sure that, if she did that, someone innocent could get hurt, they were in an ally _surrounded_ by houses, after all.

Santana realized the trouble she was in after seeing the coat of arms of the Witch Hunters in their clothes. By then, three more had closed her scape routes, and with nowhere to go, she decided that she would have to fight them to get out of there alive. She still had a lot to do, and she sure as hell wasn't going to die without seeing her family again.

"Sorry, boys, but I have places to be, if you excuse me", she began saying.

But the moment she saw the dimeritium bombs in their hands, she knew that It was a lost cause. Those things could block her magic for a short while, but it was enough for them to capture her. She closed her eyes and fired a lighting out of her hand, if they were going to get her, she was going to make them suffer for it.

* * *

Happy Brittana Anniversary!

I can't believe it's been a year since I started this story. It may not be the best work out there but it certainly has given me so much joy by writing it! Specially because it has my two absolute favorite things combined and because it has given me the opportunity to meet extraodinary people, looking at you like-rain-and-phones on Tumblr, love you, girl!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and be prepared because there's more to come! Don't forget to check the one-shots that I'll be posting (on AO3) so you can have more insight in this verse.

Let the festivities continue!


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